The actual use of embedded support devices in self‐study materials by students in a distance education setting

At the Dutch Open university much time is invested in the didactical elaboration of written study materials by the embedding of a large set of ‘embedded support devices’ (objectives, advance organisers, questions, tests, etc.). Is this high investment in the design of written study materials for use in the distance education setting worth the effort? To answer this question, we focused in this research on the actual use of these embedded support devices (ESD) by Open university students. After elaborating a theoretical model that was helpful to derive hypothetical functions and effects of a large set of ESD, quantitative and qualitative hypotheses were put forward in relation to the actual use of a subset of ESD that was implemented in a law course. The research set‐up was based on an in‐depth analysis of responses to structured interviews. Analysis of the results indicate that students make large use of ESD; nearly all ESD are used by more than 60% of the students. Furthermore, students make deep level use of the ESD. Moreover, interrelations could be detected between general student characteristics and deep level use of ESD. Women seem to be more likely to use planning ESD, orientating ESD and processing ESD at a deep level. Students with higher prior education levels seem to use ESD at deep level to a greater extent. Students with less prior knowledge of governmental law and students using study guidance use testing ESD more at a deep level.

No interrelations were detected between cognitive student characteristics and the use of ESD.

To get a better view of the ‘type’ of students using ESD, the interrelations between general student characteristics have been analysed. Especially higher educated (and intrinsic motivated) female students with a lot of study experience and less prior knowledge make deep level use of ESD. When linking the use of ESD to study success, it could be stated that students using ESD at a deep level are not only more likely to have a higher score on the examination, they also need fewer examination attempts. Comparing theoretical and spontaneously mentioned functions and effects of ESD revealed that students indicate functions that are not theoretically expected. Students seem to ascribe their own functions and effects to ESD.

The main conclusion of this research is that the high investment in the design of written study materials is worth the effort; but that it is important to take account of student characteristics when implementing ESD in course materials. It can, for instance, be argued it is desirable to incorporate into the materials ‘training’ about the use of the ESD. Moreover, these results link up with the growing tendency to develop more flexible Ou‐courses that are adaptable to individual student needs. The latter implies that the production of written versions of the study materials is to be redirected towards the development of automated interactive learning environments.     

A “Library School:” Building a Collaborative Preschool-Library Partnership to Support Whole Family Engagement

Early Childhood Education Journal - Preschools and public libraries are natural partners in that they share similarities in their support for early learning and family engagement for the young...     

Influence of Participation Motivation on Success and Satisfaction in Team Performance

Abstract

The present study determined the effect of affiliation and task motivation on the success and satisfaction of college intramural basketball teams. Over 1,200 male college students, members of 144 basketball teams, responded to a pre- and post-season questionnaire which assessed affiliation and task motivation as well as team satisfaction. Teams were categorized into low, moderate, and high levels for both affiliation and task motivation. The number of games won determined success. An Affiliation Motivation × Task Motivation (3 × 3) factorial design was used. The multivariate ANOVA for the affiliation hypothesis was significant, indicating that high affiliation-motivated teams in contrast to moderate- and low-affiliation-motivated teams were less successful but more satisfied. High task-motivated teams, on the other hand, were more successful and more satisfied than moderate or low task-motivated teams. No significant interaction between task and affiliation motivation was found.     

Coaction Effects on a Muscular Endurance Task

Abstract

The effect of one and three coactors on an individual's performance of a muscular endurance task was determined for 8-, 13-, and 18-year-old males. Subjects extended the dominant leg in a horizontal position for as long as possible under one of three conditions: alone, in pairs, and in groups of four. Results showed that individuals in quadrads performed significantly better than individuals in dyads and alone. No significant difference was found between individuals performing alone and in dyads. Eight-year-olds were found to be superior to the two older age groups, but the age factor was independent of the coaction effect.     

Competence,persistence, and success: The positive psychology of behavioral skill instruction

Early school failure is a critical factor in the development of peer rejection and antisocial behavior in children. This paper describes three sets of instructional strategies that have been shown to promote high levels of academic competence by arranging frequent opportunities for correct skill practice: (a) teaching children at their instructional level and monitoring progress, (b) teaching children differently as their skills improve, and (c) rewarding success and setting goals. Research is reviewed showing that practicing skills to high levels of fluency leads to retention and endurance, the emergence of new forms of a skill, and creative problem solving. The motivation of children to complete academic tasks through the strategic use of reinforcement is discussed, as are the implications of these strategies for encouraging children to be persistent, self‐motivated, life‐long learners. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 19–30, 2004.     

Issues of access and usability in designing digital resources for children

The way children's cognitive states affect how they function in digital interfaces is examined through articles published between 1989 and 2010. Children have developmental limitations, such as underdeveloped motor skills, difficulties with spelling, and trouble understanding hierarchies, classification schemes, and metadata, that make it difficult for them to find information, and challenging for adult designers to accommodate their needs. From icons to metadata to hierarchies, the best research in designing digital resources for children, (OPACs such as Pejtersen's Book House, online public libraries such as the Internet Public Library, and online collections of books such as the International Children's Digital Library), places the child user at the center, and takes an interdisciplinary and intergenerational approach. The literature indicates that research in designing for children is valuable, not only because it seeks to improve children's experience with digital resources, but also because such research translates to other marginalized users and special needs populations.     

Transforming supervisors? A critique of post-liberal approaches to research supervision

Preparation for research supervision has assumed greater importance in academic departments of universities with the increase in the number and diversity of both research candidates and supervisors and the financial incentives for on-time completions. Over the past decade a body of literature by both academics and academic developers has emerged and more recently post-liberal theories and frameworks (feminism, postmodernism and post-colonialism) have been used to problematise the field of postgraduate supervision. Central to the feminist and post-colonial critiques is the belief that supervisors are best equipped for their roles by a process of personal self-transformation which allows them to achieve an appropriate balance between emotional and rational elements in their supervisory practice. We wish to set critical and post-modern approaches in historical perspective. We seek to show that feminist and post-colonial approaches are heir to a form of critique, which was founded upon the assumption that certain institutions and practices of modern society are dehumanising because they fragment human beings’ essential unity. We argue that engaging supervisors in a process of self-transformation reinforces the idea that successful supervision is a function of the supervisor's recovery of a fully integrated and higher self.